Trackings

The Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band - PIMP

Steeldrums aye!! The instrument, originally from Trinidad & Tobago are used in various music styles (oh yes, hold on, here comes Boney M supercharged with steeldrum) but this track mixes latin and reggae influences together in a funky funky tune.

The small record company Mocambo from Hamburg released this vinyl single of The Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band (from Trinidad & Tobago) in 2008, but I couldn’t find much about the band, the track nor the original release date.

The sound became famous in 2003, when 50 Cent released a track called PIMP, featuring the lead sample from this record. Since Mocambo released the single with the same name and it came out after 50 Cents track, it is often believed that The Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band is actually a cover of the 50c track (even whosampled.com gets it wrong, boy-o-boy!!).

But ehm, no, clearly, Bacao was first, then came the rapper. It is striking though that both records are released with the same title, and I’m willing to believe that Mocambo did name their Bacao release - which they remastered from an old dusty 8-track tape - after the 50 Cent hitsingle.

A lil’ mo’ on The Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band

PS. can someone please set the record straight in the Wikipedia page of the 50c track?

EDIT. Whoaaa! My first blogpost here and turns out I found a mare’s nest. Here’s the reply I got from the attentive folks at WhoSampled.com:

[…] this is not actually an obscure unknown original dug up by the Mocambo 45 label, but just a clever marketing ploy - please see this article about the label. It explains that the label is centred around a house band which records and releases all of the music under different pseudonyms, including ‘The Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band’. […] The label owner says in the interview when asked about his favourite releases on the label he says ‘The Bacao’s PIMP, because everyone thinks it is the original to the 50 Cent tune’.